50 Things To Do In New York Before You Die (Or Move Away)

There are just about as many things to do in New York as there are people that live here. This is our “must-do” checklist for every quintessential New Yorker to complete. How many can you check off?

1. Go to an outdoor performance

2. Get a soft pretzel or a hotdog from a food cart

3. Take an aimless stroll through Central Park

4. Visit a hidden beach spot

5. Party on a rooftop

6. Party on a rooftop you’re not supposed to be partying on

7. Record a street performance and upload it to Facebook for no less than a hundred likes

8. Watch the sun set over the Brooklyn Bridge

9. Photobomb a tourist’s picture of Freedom Tower, or the Statue of Liberty, or some other landmark

10. Wave at the camera when you’re walking past ABC news

11. Get a dog

12. Get another dog

13. Give a dollar to a street musician

14. Miss your train

15. Barely make your train

16. Wait too long for your train

17. Spend the night in a museum

18. (Mis)Interpret a piece of modern art

20. J-walk (almost getting hit by a cab is optional, not encouraged)

21. See the ball drop in Time Square on New Year’s

22. Meet a celebrity

23. Go to a Broadway show

24. Visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum

25. Go to a trivia night

26. Go to a New York team’s home game

27. Play a game that you’re (never) too old to be playing

28. Ice skate in Rockefeller Center

29. Attend a political protest

30. Play speed chess in the park with a stranger

31. Make a budget

32. Break your budget

33. Make a wish in a fountain

34. Pretend you’re interested in buying a couture accessory/piece of clothing on 5th Avenue

35. Spend the weekend at your friend’s place in the Catskills/Hamptons

36. Go to an adult Halloween party

37. Smoke on somebody’s fire escape

38. See the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

40. Have dinner in Hell’s Kitchen

41. Stay out until 6am

42. Get kinky

43. Go to a farmer’s market

44. Order a beer only brewed in New York

45. Listen to some live indie music

46. Explore alternative methods of getting to work (a horse, rollerblading, etc.)

47. Inadvertently walk through a construction site

48. Ride a ferry

50. Decide to stay because NYC is the only place to be